If you think sweet peas are not for you because summers are too hot in your area, here is good news.
Heat-resistant, torrid weather varieties are readily available. By mulching them with a 6-inch layer of straw, grass clippings, peat moss, or other material to keep their roots cool and moist, you can cut fragrant bouquets until fall.
Sweet Pea Varieties
Varieties of the ever-popular Cuthbertson or Spring Flowering strain start to flower before hot weather strikes. The Giant Heat Resistant class follows them, which produces flowers well into summer.
Both come in gay color mixtures or as separate colors. Cuthbertson flowers are trim and bold, while the Giant Heat Resistant flowers are large and more ruffled than the Cuthbertson’s.
Relatively new to the garden scene are Galaxy types that flower from early summer on, producing 5 to 7 large flowers per stem, compared to a mere 3 or 4 on the other types.
They, too, are available in color mixtures or as separate colors.
Ideal Growing Conditions
Best Time To Sow Sweet Pea Seeds
For truly spectacular results with sweet peas, they must be sown very early in spring, as soon as the soil can be worked, or even in late fall, just before the ground freezes.
The latter method is especially recommended for southern and Pacific Coast areas.
Fall-sown seeds go into action when the weather begins to warm the following spring.
Whether planting in spring or fall, coat the seed with a disinfectant to prevent rot.
Light And Soil Requirements
Sweet peas like sunny, open locations, but if you can give them a partly shaded place during the midday heat, so much better.
Average, well-drained garden soil is satisfactory but spade the soil thoroughly before planting, mixing in reasonably large quantities of peat moss, compost, or well-rotted manure.
And, except in overly sweet soils, mix in a half-pound of ground limestone to a 20-foot row when preparing the soil for planting.
Before sowing, work in a pound of bonemeal and one pound of a complete fertilizer to a 20-foot row.
Types Of Planting
Row planting along an existing fence or trellis makes a pretty garden picture and a good background for a flower border.
Or rows may be planted in vegetable gardens if flowers for cutting are your major objective.
For columns of color in a flower border, sow the seed around a circle of the brush or a cylinder of chicken wire.
Single-row planting is best for fences or trellises. Plant 3 or 4 seeds in groups 6” inches apart from the length of the row and 4” to 6” inches out from the bottom of the support.
Double-row planting is recommended for plantings in a vegetable garden. It consists of sowing 2 rows, as in single-row planting, spacing the rows 6” inches apart.
Then a chicken wire or brush support is placed between the rows when they reach 2” to 4” inches in height.
Flower Border Accent Planting
For flower border accents, do the following:
- Space groups of seeds around support or where the support will go when the seedlings appear.
- Thin out each group of seedlings, whether in rows or around a cylinder, so only one seedling remains in each group.
- At thinning, time side-dress the plants with a complete fertilizer, about one pound to 20 feet of row.
- Mulch the vines after fertilizing to keep the ground cool and moist.
Pick flowers to encourage more blooms and prevent the vines from seeding.
During prolonged drought, rake back the mulch and water thoroughly—a soil soaker is ideal for this—and replace the mulch to prevent evaporation.